Stanford, Varian to develop new microwave power source

STANFORD -- The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and Varian
Associates Inc. have signed a $1.5 million cooperative research and
development agreement to design, engineer and test advanced microwave tubes
called klystrons to power the center's new B Factory.

Klystrons are important sources of power for particle accelerators used in
physics research, radiation therapy and semiconductor manufacturing. They
were invented in the late 1930s by Russell and Sigurd Varian, who founded
Varian Associates in 1948 to commercialize such devices. In recent years,
however, European and Japanese companies have captured the lion's share of
the market for high- power klystrons needed for particle physics
applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, SLAC and Varian will combine resources
to develop and test two different designs for a high- power klystron, one of
which will then be selected for use in the B Factory. Varian will explore the
possible use of these klystrons for other emerging commercial and industrial
applications, such as microwave process heating and industrial accelerators.

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, known as a CRADA,
provides a means to transfer advanced technologies from U.S. national
laboratories to private industry. SLAC's sponsoring agency, the Department of
Energy, authorized the use of this type of agreement, under which its
laboratories share project costs with industrial partners. Several U.S.
manufacturers were invited to collaborate on the klystron design project, and
Varian accepted.

In an Oct. 4 press conference held in San Francisco, President Clinton
announced Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary's decision to award the B Factory
project to SLAC. Also known as PEP II, this facility will be an upgrade of
the Positron Electron Project, an existing particle collider housed in a 2.2
kilometer tunnel. It will produce millions of short-lived subatomic particles
called B mesons.

By precisely measuring how B mesons disintegrate, scientists hope to learn
more about the differences between matter and antimatter. Of fundamental
importance to particle physics and cosmology, this research has far-reaching
implications for understanding the origins of matter in the universe.

In particle accelerators, klystrons generate a very high- frequency
electric field (one that reverses direction many millions of times per
second). This microwave field boosts charged particles to high speeds and
energies. Engineers refer to klystrons as "tubes" because the
microwave-generating section of the device is a cylinder operating under a
vacuum, like a vacuum tube.

The B Factory requires a 1200 kilowatt klystron that can operate
continuously at a frequency of 476 megahertz (476 million cycles per second).
It will be the most powerful klystron of its class. The prototype designs
will be based on technology similar to a 500 kilowatt klystron that SLAC
recently built and successfully tested. One of the 1200 kilowatt prototype
designs will use standard technology, and the other will incorporate advanced
technologies developed by Varian.

"Collaboration with Varian makes good sense because we can work closely
together to include manufacturing and operational efficiencies in the design
process," said SLAC Project Manager Robert Phillips. "Varian's participation
can provide alternative technologies, with which SLAC has limited experience,
to better optimize the klystron."

"This agreement will lead to the introduction of a new tube that should
give Varian entry into key existing and emerging markets," said Armand
Staprans, vice president and general manager, Varian Microwave Power Tube
Products. "By participating in the initial design, we will be able to
influence the manufacturability and specifications of a tube that will more
closely meet many of our customers' requirements."

Among potential applications of this klystron are devices and equipment
for cancer therapy, transmuting radioactive waste, lithography in microchip
processing, and producing specialized semiconductors and medicines using ion
implantation.

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is a national laboratory devoted to
research in high-energy physics and the use of synchrotron radiation in
science and industry. Located about 30 miles south of San Francisco,
California, it is operated for the Department of Energy by Stanford
University.

Varian Associates, Inc., is a diversified international high- technology
company with annual sales in excess of $1 billion. Headquartered in Palo
Alto, California, it produces equipment and components for medical,
communications, scientific, industrial and defense markets worldwide.

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